Law and regulation of rental agreements in Switzerland during Covid-19

Updated on 26.03.2020.

No, in principle not (except when this has been specifically agreed in the lease agreement).

No, in principle not. Unless an obligation to operate/keep it open is included in the lease, the lessee may close its lease space, but will not be entitled to a rent reduction. 

However, each individual case must be considered separately: there may be a possibility for the lessee to invoke the "clausula rebus sic stantibus" (i.e. the right to terminate or amend a lease because of a fundamental change in circumstances) in a situation that is exceptionally burdensome, not only financially, and that could not have been foreseen at the time the contract was concluded. In this case, if the lessor refuses to adjust the lease, the lessee can take the matter to court, which can adjust or terminate the lease .

In general, the lessee is entitled to claim a rent reduction if the premises have a defect. The question of whether the Government's orders to close operations represent a deficiency has not yet been conclusively clarified in legal practice.

Securities are regularly provided for office and commercial premises in the form of bank guarantees or rent deposit accounts.

No in principle not, because contracts must be fulfilled. However, each individual case must be considered separately: 

• On the one hand, the Swiss Code of Obligations provides in Art. 266g that a lease can be terminated for good cause with six months' notice. An important reason may be based on unforeseeable events such as war or economic crises if the continuation of the lease appears objectively unreasonable for the terminating party. A high bar is set for this condition. The circumstances of the individual case, such as the term of the rental agreement, are always decisive.
• On the other hand, there may be a possibility for the lessee to invoke the "clausula rebus sic stantibus" in a situation that is exceptionally burdensome, not only financially, and that could not have been foreseen at the time the lease was concluded. In this case, if the lessor refuses to adjust the lease, the lessee can take the matter to court, which can adjust or terminate the contract.